Police: Atlanta teen raped woman days after bonding out on theft charge

A 17-year-old is accused of raping a jogger in a northwest Atlanta neighborhood Thursday, which was two days after he bonded out of jail on a theft charge, authorities said.

D’Shawn Garrison, of Atlanta, faces six felonies after the two incidents, Atlanta police told AJC.com.

On Sunday around 4 a.m., officers spotted a vehicle near Johnson and Hollywood roads that was reported as stolen at gunpoint from Forest Park the night prior, according to an Atlanta police incident report obtained by AJC.com. Garrison is accused of driving the vehicle.

After a brief chase, Garrison jumped out of the car on Baker Road and tried to run away before being caught, the report said. Two juvenile girls, who were in the car, were also detained and were charged with curfew violation.

Garrison, who was wearing an ankle monitor when arrested, faced a more serious charge: theft by receiving stolen property. AJC.com has reached out to Forest Park police to clarify who is accused of the initial armed carjacking.

He was wearing an ankle monitor as a condition of a bond he received after being arrested on an armed robbery charge in Fulton County when he was 14, Channel 2 Action News reported.

Before he was booked Sunday, he briefly escaped custody and fled on foot, police said. He turned himself in around noon the same day, and police charged him with escaping custody.

On Tuesday, he posted a $17,500 signature bond and was released from the Fulton County jail, according to jail records. The bond was set by Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Frazier.

Around 9 a.m. Thursday, he was arrested again by officers after allegedly raping a 54-year-old woman who was jogging on Abner Place, police said. He’s accused of tearing her pants off and assaulting her on a front lawn along the street.

A witness saw what was happening, helped stop the assault and held Garrison until officers arrived, police said.

He was charged with rape, aggravated assault by strangulation, battery that caused substantial physical harm and interference with government property, jail records show. This time he was denied bond.

Police told Channel 2 Action News they’re upset that it took another serious allegation for Garrison, who has more than a dozen prior arrests, to be denied a chance to leave jail.

District Attorney Paul Howard sent the news station a statement that said Garrison never should’ve been permitted bond.

“For some unknown reason we have not been able to determine, neither the District Attorney, the Magistrate Judge, nor the Pre-Trial Release Division had possession of Garrison’s juvenile record at the time of the hearing,” the statement said. “Garrison was not wearing the ankle monitor at the time of the hearing and stood before the Magistrate Judge with his mother in tow. No mention was made of his previous record which led to his release by signature bond to his mother.”

Also in the statement, Howard vowed to indict the teen within 30 days and made it clear he will remain in custody until his case is heard.